Old Master Paintings & Spanish Colonial Art
Lot 306:
Exceptional and great view of the Montjuïc mountain before becoming a cemetery in oil on canvas, with the Prat beach in the background, a work of great historical-artistic relevance both for the City of Barcelona and for Catalonia both for its symbolism and for its dimensions. Ramón Martí Alsina, also Ramon Martí i Alsina (Barcelona, August 10, 1826 – December 21, 1894), was a Spanish painter of realism. Considered the creator of the Catalan landscape school, a circle in which he developed a work similar to that of Carlos de Haes, and as a teacher of the generation of painters that includes Modest Urgell, Simó Gómez, Joaquín Vayreda, Baldomero Galofré, José Luis Pellicer , Lluís Armet or Francesc Torrescassana. Born into a humble family, he was orphaned at the age of eight, passing at that age under the authority of his godfather, who, under his indications, studied philosophy. His first steps as a painter and draftsman were taken in the town of Mataró, where his mother’s family was from. There he began to make a reputation as a portraitist among the local bourgeoisie, defining his first stage by a naturalistic objectivism and alien to official dogmas. From that time on, he began to focus on nature as a direct inspiration, going out to paint the holidays in the mountains and coasts of the El Maresme region, looking for themes for its landscapes and seascapes. Martí i Alsina is shown in this way as an author possessing a fresh artistic instinct that from his early years manifests himself opposed to the corsets of the prevailing officiality. In 1848 he traveled to Paris, where he visited the Louvre and where he became acquainted with the work of authors such as Horace Vernet and Eugène Delacroix. Later, you will learn about the work of Gustave Courbet, the greatest international exponent of pictorial realism, and the work of the Barbizon School. In 1850 he married Carlota Aguiló, at which point, in addition, his career as an artist took hold. In 1852 he obtained the chair of drawing at the School of La Lonja in Barcelona, and two years later he would go on to teach figure drawing. He is dedicated to teaching preaching realism and capturing the natural, especially in the landscape. He travels repeatedly to Paris and also to Holland. Attracted by the positivist thought and the progressive, republican and anticlerical currents, he identified with the revolutionary ideals of 1868. During the reign of Amadeo de Saboya he resigned from his teaching duties at the Ecola de la Llotja for political reasons. However, with the arrival of the First Spanish Republic and under the mandate of President Francisco Pi Margall, he was rehabilitated in his functions. The first important exhibition in which Martí i Alsina participated was the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona in 1851. From that moment on, he will participate in various exhibitions both in Barcelona and in Madrid or in Paris, in several of which he was awarded . He was even invited to the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris. In the seventies, and at the same time that his work went through one of its best moments, his life began to suffer different calamities on a personal level. In 1872 his sons Camilo and Carlota died almost simultaneously. and in 1878 he lost his wife. At the same time, it is heavily in debt, to the point that it had to multiply its production and work in different workshops (it had seven open at the same time), almost industrially. He contracted a second marriage with Francisca Chillida, although financial difficulties would press him until his death. Reference literature: Folch i Torres, Joaquim. The painter Martí i Alsina. Barcelona, Municipal Board of Exhibitions, 1920; González Llácer, Jordi. “Ramon Martí i Alsina”, in One Hundred Years of Painting in Spain and Portugal (1830-1930, vol. 5. Barcelona, Antiquaria, 1991. Provenance: private collection, Barcelona. Canvas measurements: 90 x 185 cm to the point that he had to multiply his production and work in different workshops (he had seven open at the same time), in an almost industrial way. He contracted a second marriage with Francisca Chillida, although financial difficulties would press him until his death. Reference literature: Folch i Torres, Joaquim. The painter Martí i Alsina. Barcelona, Municipal Board of Exhibitions, 1920; González Llácer, Jordi. “Ramon Martí i Alsina”, in One Hundred Years of Painting in Spain and Portugal (1830-1930, vol. 5. Barcelona, Antiquaria, 1991. Provenance: private collection, Barcelona. Canvas measurements: 90 x 185 cm to the point that he had to multiply his production and work in different workshops (he had seven open at the same time), in an almost industrial way. He contracted a second marriage with Francisca Chillida, although financial difficulties would press him until his death. Reference literature: Folch i Torres, Joaquim. The painter Martí i Alsina. Barcelona, Municipal Board of Exhibitions, 1920; González Llácer, Jordi. “Ramon Martí i Alsina”, in One Hundred Years of Painting in Spain and Portugal (1830-1930, vol. 5. Barcelona, Antiquaria, 1991. Provenance: private collection, Barcelona. Canvas measurements: 90 x 185 cm Reference literature: Folch i Torres, Joaquim. The painter Martí i Alsina. Barcelona, Municipal Board of Exhibitions, 1920; González Llácer, Jordi. “Ramon Martí i Alsina”, in One Hundred Years of Painting in Spain and Portugal (1830-1930, vol. 5. Barcelona, Antiquaria, 1991. Provenance: private collection, Barcelona. Canvas measurements: 90 x 185 cm Reference literature: Folch i Torres, Joaquim. The painter Martí i Alsina. Barcelona, Municipal Board of Exhibitions, 1920; González Llácer, Jordi. “Ramon Martí i Alsina”, in One Hundred Years of Painting in Spain and Portugal (1830-1930, vol. 5. Barcelona, Antiquaria, 1991. Provenance: private collection, Barcelona. Canvas measurements: 90 x 185 cm
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